Along with ringing in the New Year, spring suggests a fresh semester with new responsibilities and a compact period of hard-working months. No matter what year you are in with your college education, regardless of any experience you are a part of now or anticipate being in, a good understanding of the application process is essential to your professional repertoire. Many students think they have a solid summary of their skill-set, but then wonder why their applications are overlooked. Rather than stay camouflaged in a sea of trying students, stand out above the water with the help of iFlipTipsPro. This app from TECHtionary will greatly assist in not just your academic pursuits, but professional goals as well.
Render The Perfect Resume
The three-point rule to remember: concise, eye-catching, and clear. In order for you to organize your resume, use iFlipSlides which will help you to sort each slide (main point) into the correct format for either a functional or standard resume. College students will run into a lot of jobs that ask the applier to demonstrate their understanding of a certain skill set. However, many students do not have direct experience with this skill because they are just starting out. A functional resume will be the chosen organizational format for these students because it puts talents related to the skill in question, first, instead of past jobs. The key to organizing your resume is highlighting the vital information that will catch an employer’s attention. That being said, a standard resume will be a typical format of related past work first.
Include contact information such as your address, email, and phone number. Include education – a G.P.A. is not required to state if it’s not up to par quite yet, but it’s helpful if you do have one to boast about. Include the objective – be specific. When you do your research on jobs in your field, look for specific occupational titles associated with the type of work you are aiming to do. Since a lot of resumes are submitted online, there is no limit to how many applicants there are for one single job. Employers sift through these resumes by keyword searches. So use iFlipIdeas to store phrases, words, and a contact profile with pictures and emails linked to jobs you apply for. Keep these phrases all separated by different folders for each ad or company you inquire about. That way, it’s super easy to refer to these when tailoring your resume for different jobs. You’ll have to tweak your resume for each different job you apply for, so it’s good to have recorded voice notes or pictures of details and values about that job. Only include activities, interests, and awards that relate to the job title. The app has a useful folder system for sorting out all the different jobs you apply for.
If you’re sending your resume online, which is the preferred choice for most companies nowadays, make sure to send it in an accessible format like PDF or ‘rich text’. A good program to use for designing this is Microsoft Publisher because it has a lot of different templates and color schemes to choose from in order to personalize your document. But it must be easily viewed, scanned, and printed for the hirer. Also, keep track of the exact titles of ads so that you can integrate these in the ‘subject line’ of emails – just another way to ensure your resume gets pulled up out of the bunch. Another tip is to keep track of all the guidelines for applying that the ad or source provides. A good way to make a bad first impression is by not following the first basic form of instructions before you even are considered for a job. Then, formally reiterate that the resume is attached with the words ‘Attached: resume’ at the bottom of the email or ‘Enclosed: resume’ if submitted physically.
Create A Cool Cover Letter
A cover letter is best with the same three-point rule as is for resumes. Only create them if specified. However, since many applications are now sent through email or online in some way, it’s good to make an even more shorthanded version of one to accompany a memo or comment box – just in case they use it for keyword searches. If you’re applying for a position that doesn’t necessarily have an ad pertaining to it, consider including an introduction that asks if their company could have use for your area of expertise and credentials. Be polite, witty and charming without being overdone. Make sure that there are no grammar or punctuation mistakes. Post it online via Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or email so that you have a second pair of eyes to see things that you wouldn’t. You can do this sharing step with any of the three sections – notes, slides or cards – so that people can critique you and give you more of an upper hand on what to expect for the big day.
A cover letter will have to be made unique to each ad, whereas a resume is only tweaked based on the objective and experience or skill set featured. You’ll want to kick them out pretty quickly and regularly so that you’re not impeding application progress by spending hours on one letter at a time. For your first one, however, it’s reasonable to estimate a longer amount of time to get it down. If the ad does not specify a name to address the application to, then a formal greeting could be ‘Dear Sir/Madame’. Introduce yourself and where/how you found/came across their ad. Tell them which position you’re applying for and what makes you a good candidate using the keywords. End it by thanking them for their time. Be enthusiastic but reserved. If they’ve asked for a full blown letter, this is the prime opportunity to embellish on your strongest qualities. Let them know why you’re combination of skills and talent has prepared you, and how you’d bring something originally positive to the requirements.
For instance, with the second of three short paragraphs, say ‘I’ve been an Honor student in mathematics since my sophomore year in high school earning me a spot on my college’s competitive math team for a year now’. Whatever you say, avoid wordiness, redundancy, and underwhelming sentences – make sure they can see confidence but composure emanating from both your resume and cover letter. This is the step preceding their inquiries to contact you – you’ll have a chance to entice them more in your interview. So don’t butter yourself up in a long, drawn-out and dragging letter (employers normally pass these up if there’s too much reading involved). If you are feeling some sort of need to exaggerate or lie, the position may not be for you – so be sincere!
Imperative Interview Skills
After you’ve done your research, have gotten a response back from your submission, and caught the attention of hiring managers, it’s time to polish your interview skills. Remember that at this point in the process, you still have not solidified your obtainment of the position so don’t celebrate quite yet. At the same time, don’t psyche yourself out either. It’s important to maintain an optimistic mind while still staying sharp. Calm your nerves for this big day by practicing some important potential questions. Since you don’t know what they’ll ask you, you must be ready for anything, or have a good plan for being tripped up. A good pattern to follow is to listen openly, act naturally and answer it thoroughly to the best of your ability. If you find yourself in a pickle or a brain blockage – buy yourself time by rewording the question like you would for an essay, or say something like ‘I’ll have to think about that one for a sec’ with a small smile. Make sure you only pause momentarily and use that pause to the fullest in order to rack your thoughts for a good response. Remember that most questions should be easily answered from examples of which you studied a lot in school. If you haven’t directly yet dealt with it or missed that scenario in class one day, then use your creativity and inference skills to muster up something vague but sufficient.
FlipCards for Interviewing Q&A
Use iFlipCards to ask yourself questions, and then answer them over and over for better attempts. Use the audio tool or video to record yourself in a mock-style interview. Then post them online so that people can respond to them and give you useful feedback. Also, prepare your own set of questions you have about the company and position – do not inquire about salary, vacation days, or benefits unless they bring it up! Those questions will be assessed later in the hiring process.
Here are some useful starter questions to get the juices flowing if you’re drawing a blank: Do I possess strong speech skills? Am I a team player, and do I take the time to understand people’s backgrounds and influences? Am I fit for guiding a group, or do I work best with only individual responsibility? How do I handle overload and conflict? What is my stance on ethics and morals? Am I someone that deals with pressing circumstances like a pro? Am I interested in traveling? Do I need to have a supervisor for encouragement, or am I self motivated? What are my ultimate career goals? These questions can also help navigate you in job searches initially.
Mapping Time & Influential Doodles
Then use iFlipCal to schedule all your meetings and steps in the hiring process. It not only sends push notifications through your phone for each professional and academic event, but it’s also useful for social occasions as well. It’s recommended that you schedule times for searching, researching, and applying for jobs like you would set aside allotted time for an average work day so that you can be avid in your pursuits.
Then, use iFlipPads to jot down a few helpful notes with inspirational photo or colorful backgrounds to keep you encouraged and positive, or if you need a pick-me-up before the interview. Write down a list of things you’ll need like a pen, a reference list (which is never required unless specified, but is useful to have on hand regardless), a sample of your work (showcased very neatly) or a portfolio, several copies of your resume, and maybe on-hand direction-notes in case you get lost on your way there (even though you’ll have a full contact profile per company stored in your ideas section). Also, write a note down to remind yourself of thank you letters! Always send something brief and warm to thank them for their time and the opportunity to interview – regardless of whether you got the job or not.
Also, the archive section stores all your deleted folders if you discard a job you think won’t materialize, but suddenly get a response from, and need to restore the recorded information. Then organize something fun to do after the interview like treating yourself to a nice meal or going to a movie with friends so that you have something to look forward to, keeping you motivated. It’s nice to reward yourself for the hard work you put into each task, especially in college life. It teaches you that work comes first and fun is later.
This app helps you practice these vital skills and prep wherever you are, so that you can put full focus towards that first great – and continuing – impression to employers. Following the tips above using this app will ensure that you maximize your candidacy for whatever position you’re interested in. Make sure to stay collected and confident, and trust that your instincts, education, and efforts yet, have brought you this far, so only your struggle with inner self-doubt stand between you and your ultimate career ambitions. Don’t stop when you encounter rejection – stamina for achievement will be important, and you’ll need to find strength within yourself to keep at it.
2) iFlipTips is a simple to use, notecard builder with text, audio, video and pics.3) iFlipSlides is an easy to use slide show presentation builder.4) iFlipCal organizes study, meetings and other events into a calendar including reminders.5) iFlippads are unique multicolored post notes with multimedia image editor for making sharable dooglegrams.All three features iFlipTips, iFlipSlides and iFlippads can be shared/posted to Twitter, Linkedin Facebook or email. Capture information and file it fast with unlimited Library Folders and Subfolders. Click on icon to buy from iTunes.
